All language subtitles for The West - s01e04 - Death Runs Riot (1856-1868)

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS,

SALT LAKE CITY.

THE AMERICAN NATION
IS DOOMED TO DESTRUCTION,

AND NO POWER CAN SAVE IT.

IT IS DECREED THAT THE MEASURE

WHICH THEY HAVE METED OUT
UNTO THE SAINTS

SHALL BE METED UNTO THEM,

AND THEY ARE HASTENING
UNTO THEIR WORK OF DESOLATION

WAR, BLOODSHED,
AND DESTRUCTION,

AND WOE, WOE IS THEIR DOOM.

THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY WOULD
CRY, "O, LORD, HASTEN THY WORK.

"LET THE WICKED SLAY THE WICKED

UNTIL THE WHOLE LAND
IS CLEANSED" --

WILFORD WOODRUFF.

Man: TIME AFTER TIME, CONGRESS
AND THE PEOPLE IN THE EAST

SAW THE WEST AS A SAFETY VALVE,
A PLACE WHERE YOU COULD GO

AND ESCAPE THE PROBLEMS
OF WHERE YOU WERE.

IT WAS PART OF THE WHOLE MYTH
OF THE WEST.

YOU COULD ESCAPE AND BE FREE.

WELL, WE THOUGHT WE COULD ESCAPE

WHATEVER NATIONAL TENSIONS
AND UNRESOLVED PROBLEMS WE HAD,

BUT IT CAME BACK, YOU KNOW, LIKE
A BIG WIND FROM THE PRAIRIE,

BIGGER AND BIGGER EACH TIME.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

[ VOICES ADDED TO CHANTING ]

Narrator: FROM THE BEGINNING,
THE UNITED STATES HAD ENVISIONED

AN ORDERLY EXPANSION
INTO THE WEST --

TREATIES WERE SUPPOSED
TO LEGITIMIZE SETTLEMENT,

OFFICIAL SURVEYS
WERE TO MAP THE LAND,

THEN, AMERICANS COULD SPREAD
PEACEFULLY ACROSS IT --

ALL UNDER THE GUIDANCE AND
PROTECTION OF THEIR GOVERNMENT.

BUT THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH
AND THE WAR WITH MEXICO

CHANGED EVERYTHING.

AMERICANS WERE NOW MOVING WEST,
IN EVER-LARGER NUMBERS,

AHEAD OF THEIR GOVERNMENT --

SEARCHING FOR NEW TREASURE,
CLEARING LAND,

BUILDING TOWNS AND CITIES,
STARTING OVER.

BUT THE NEW SETTLERS
BROUGHT WITH THEM

THEIR NATION'S OLDEST AND
MOST DIVISIVE ISSUE -- SLAVERY.

ONCE SEEN AS THE LAND
OF HOPE AND NEW BEGINNINGS,

THE WEST BECAME A BREEDING
GROUND FOR THE BLOODSHED

THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY ENGULF
THE WHOLE COUNTRY.

AND WHEN WAR FINALLY CAME,

THE RESULT IN THE WEST
WAS CHAOS --

HATRED CONSUMED
ENTIRE COMMUNITIES,

CRIMINALS LED ARMIES,
AND NO ONE WAS SAFE.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT,

ENGAGED IN A STRUGGLE SIMPLY
TO HOLD THE COUNTRY TOGETHER,

COULD DO NOTHING TO STOP IT.

A PIOUS NEW HAMPSHIRE WOMAN
WHO MOVED WEST

HOPING TO KEEP THE REGION
FREE OF SLAVERY

INSTEAD WOULD WATCH
AS HER KANSAS NEIGHBORS

WANTONLY KILLED ONE ANOTHER.

A DEVOUT MORMON WHO HAD
FLED WEST WITH HIS PEOPLE

TO AVOID PERSECUTION

WOULD TAKE PART
IN THE WORST MASSACRE

OF INNOCENT PIONEERS
IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

A FANATICAL METHODIST PARSON

WOULD TRANSFORM HIMSELF
INTO A CELEBRATED SOLDIER --

AND THEN TRY TO BUILD
A POLITICAL CAREER

BASED ON MURDER.

WHILE A CHEYENNE CHIEF,
WHO WANTED NOTHING BUT PEACE,

WOULD FIND NO ESCAPE,
AS TIME AND AGAIN

HIS UNSUSPECTING VILLAGE
BECAME A BATTLEFIELD.

Woman: WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE
THIS WONDERFUL DREAM

THAT THE WEST WILL UNITE
THE SOUTH AND THE NORTH --

THE WEST WILL BE
THE KIND OF NEW CHILD

WHO BRINGS THIS
TROUBLED MARRIAGE TOGETHER --

1850s CARRY
A DIFFERENT LESSON ENTIRELY,

WHICH IS THAT THIS IS THE CHILD
THAT WILL BLOW UP THE MARRIAGE.

THAT'S THE MOST
CONSEQUENTIAL MOMENT OF THE WEST

FOR THE NATION.

THAT'S WHERE THERE'S NO QUESTION
ABOUT HOW CENTRAL THE WEST IS

TO THE WHOLE STORY
OF THE COUNTRY.

[ THUNDER RUMBLES ]

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

A GREAT WORK IS TO BE DONE,

AND KANSAS
IS THE GREAT BATTLEFIELD

WHERE A MIGHTY CONFLICT
IS TO BE WAGED

WITH THE MONSTER SLAVERY,

AND HE WILL BE ROUTED
AND SLAIN.

AMEN AND AMEN --

JULIA LOUISA LOVEJOY.

Narrator: IN THE SPRING OF 1855,

THE REVEREND CHARLES H. LOVEJOY
OF CROYDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE,

HIS 43-YEAR-OLD WIFE,
JULIA LOUISA, AND THEIR CHILDREN

CROSSED THE MISSOURI RIVER

INTO THE NEWLY CREATED
KANSAS TERRITORY.

THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF SETTLERS
POURING IN THAT YEAR

TO STAKE CLAIMS IN WHAT HAD
RECENTLY BEEN INDIAN LANDS.

BUT THE LOVEJOYS -- AND OTHERS
LIKE THEM FROM NEW ENGLAND --

WERE A DIFFERENT KIND
OF AMERICAN PIONEER,

NOT INTERESTED
IN GOLD, LAND, OR ADVENTURE.

THEY WERE ABOLITIONISTS,

PART OF A GRASS-ROOTS MOVEMENT
SWEEPING THE NORTH.

THEY WERE OUTRAGED

THAT IN A NATION
FOUNDED ON THE IDEAL OF FREEDOM,

NEARLY 4 MILLION AMERICANS WERE
STILL OWNED BY OTHER AMERICANS.

THE LOVEJOYS HAD COME WEST,

DETERMINED TO KEEP THE SOIL
OF KANSAS FREE FROM SLAVERY.

[ GAVEL POUNDS ]

FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY,

AS THE UNITED STATES
EXPANDED WESTWARD,

CONGRESS HAD QUARRELED
AGAIN AND AGAIN

OVER WHETHER THE NEW TERRITORIES
WOULD BE SLAVE OR FREE,

EACH TIME WORKING OUT
A FRAGILE COMPROMISE.

Duncan:
EVERY TIME THAT THEY THOUGHT

THAT THEY HAD HODGEPODGED
SOMETHING TOGETHER,

SOME NEW LAND IN THE WEST
WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE

THAT AMERICANS WERE SETTLING AND
WANTING TO BRING INTO THE UNION,

AND IT KEPT BRINGING IT
RIGHT BACK TO CONGRESS.

WELL, WILL IT BE FREE, OR SLAVE,

AND WILL THAT UPSET
THIS DELICATE BALANCE

THAT IT WAS CONSTRUCTED
10 YEARS AGO OR 20 YEARS AGO

OR 30 YEARS AGO?

Narrator:
IN 1854, CONGRESS HAD CREATED

TWO NEW TERRITORIES --
KANSAS AND NEBRASKA --

AND PROPOSED
TO HOLD A SPECIAL ELECTION

WHICH WOULD LEAVE
THE ISSUE OF SLAVERY

UP TO THE SETTLERS
WHO LIVED THERE.

MANY IN CONGRESS BELIEVED

THIS NEW COMPROMISE
WOULD HOLD THE NATION TOGETHER.

INSTEAD, IT WOULD TEAR IT APART.

AND THE WEST
WOULD BECOME A BATTLEGROUND

FOR THE SOUL OF THE COUNTRY.

WE ARE PLAYING
FOR A MIGHTY STAKE.

THE GAME MUST BE PLAYED BOLDLY.

WE ARE ORGANIZING.

WE WILL BE COMPELLED
TO SHOOT, BURN, AND HANG,

BUT THE THING
WILL SOON BE OVER.

IF WE WIN, WE CAN CARRY
SLAVERY TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN --

SENATOR DAVID ATCHISON,
MISSOURI.

COME ON THEN,
GENTLEMEN OF THE SLAVE STATES.

SINCE THERE IS NO ESCAPING
YOUR CHALLENGE,

I ACCEPT IT IN BEHALF
OF THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM.

WE WILL ENGAGE IN COMPETITION
FOR THE VIRGIN SOIL OF KANSAS,

AND GOD GIVE THE VICTORY
TO THE SIDE WHICH IS STRONGER

IN NUMBERS
AS IT IS IN THE RIGHT --

SENATOR WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
NEW YORK.

Limerick:
TO HAND THE ISSUE TO KANSAS

IS TO ASK FOR THE MOST EXPLOSIVE
CONDITIONS POSSIBLE.

TO TAKE THE MOST UNSETTLED KIND
OF SOCIETY AND THROW INTO THAT

THE ISSUE THAT MADE CONGRESSMEN
WANT TO KILL EACH OTHER.

IF YOU WANTED TO DESIGN
THE WORST POSSIBLE CONDITIONS

TO DRAMATIZE HOW BITTER
THESE FIGHTS WERE,

YOU COULDN'T DO BETTER THAN
WHAT THEY DESIGNED FOR KANSAS.

Narrator: ON ELECTION DAY,

NEARLY 5,000
ARMED PROSLAVERY MEN,

LED BY SENATOR DAVID ATCHISON,
FLOODED IN FROM MISSOURI,

TRYING TO INFLUENCE THE VOTE --
AND THE FATE OF KANSAS.

THEY SEIZED POLLING PLACES,
CAST FOUR TIMES AS MANY BALLOTS

AS THERE WERE VOTERS
IN THE TERRITORY,

AND INSTALLED A LEGISLATURE

THAT MADE IT A CRIME
TO EVEN CRITICIZE SLAVERY.

THEIR OPPONENTS,
CALLED "FREE SOILERS,"

COUNTERED
WITH THEIR OWN ELECTION.

THEY DREW UP A CONSTITUTION
THAT OUTLAWED SLAVERY --

THOUGH IT ALSO BARRED
BLACK SETTLEMENT --

AND THEN APPLIED FOR ADMISSION
TO THE UNION AS A FREE STATE.

KANSAS NOW HAD
TWO GOVERNMENTS --

AND ITS PEOPLE WERE ABOUT TO GO
TO WAR WITH ONE ANOTHER.

Man: BOTH SIDES WERE SUPPLIED
FROM THE OUTSIDE.

IT WAS ALMOST AS IF A CIVIL WAR
WERE TAKING PLACE

IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY,
WITH THE SOUTH PROVIDING

THE ARMS, THE MONEY, AND THE MEN
ON ONE SIDE,

AND THE NEW ENGLAND,

IDEOLOGICALLY COMMITTED
ABOLITIONISTS ON THE OTHER.

Narrator: BY THE FALL OF 1855,
THE REVEREND AND MRS. LOVEJOY

WERE LIVING IN THE ANTISLAVERY
STRONGHOLD OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS.

JULIA BEGAN WRITING A STREAM OF
LETTERS TO NEWSPAPERS BACK EAST.

Lovejoy: THE GREATEST TROUBLE IN
THIS PART OF THE TERRITORY NOW

IS ABOUT
OUR MISSOURIAN NEIGHBORS,

WHOSE HEARTS ARE SET
ON MISCHIEF.

WE ARE APPREHENDING TROUBLE

IF NOT "HARD FIGHTING"
IN OUR QUIET COMMUNITY.

Man: IMAGINE A MAN STANDING
IN A PAIR OF LONG BOOTS,

THE HANDLE
OF A LARGE BOWIE KNIFE

PROJECTING
FROM ONE OR BOTH BOOT TOPS,

A LEATHER BELT
BUCKLED AROUND HIS WAIST,

ON EACH SIDE OF WHICH
IS FASTENED A LARGE REVOLVER.

IMAGINE SUCH A PICTURE
OF HUMANITY,

WHO CAN SWEAR ANY GIVEN NUMBER
OF OATHS IN ANY SPECIFIED TIME,

DRINK ANY QUANTITY OF BAD
WHISKEY WITHOUT GETTING DRUNK,

AND BOAST OF HAVING STOLEN
A HALF DOZEN HORSES

AND KILLED
ONE OR MORE ABOLITIONISTS,

AND YOU WILL HAVE
A PRETTY FAIR CONCEPTION

OF A BORDER RUFFIAN,

AS HE APPEARS
IN MISSOURI AND IN KANSAS --

JOHN H. GIHON.

Narrator: IN THE SPRING OF 1856,

SOMEONE WOUNDED
A PROSLAVERY SHERIFF,

AND 800 ARMED MEN,
BENT ON REVENGE,

STORMED INTO LAWRENCE,

GOT DRUNK,
DESTROYED TWO NEWSPAPER OFFICES,

BURNED DOWN THE HOTEL AND THE
HOME OF THE FREE-SOIL GOVERNOR.

[ GUNSHOT ]

Lovejoy: I CAUGHT
MY DARLING BABE FROM THE BED,

MOANING AS HE WENT.

I RUSHED TO A PLACE OF SAFETY
OUT OF TOWN

AS FAST AS MY FEEBLE LIMBS
COULD CARRY ME.

THE SCENE THAT MET OUR GAZE
BEGGARS DESCRIPTION --

WOMEN AND CHILDREN FLEEING
ON EVERY HAND,

CATTLE, AS THOUGH AWARE
THAT DANGER WAS NEAR,

HUDDLING TOGETHER.

IT WILL NEVER FADE
FROM MEMORY'S VISION.

Narrator: WHEN MASSACHUSETTS
SENATOR CHARLES SUMNER

DENOUNCED WHAT HE CALLED
THIS "CRIME AGAINST KANSAS,"

A SOUTH CAROLINA CONGRESSMAN
STRODE ONTO THE SENATE FLOOR

AND BEAT HIM SENSELESS
WITH A CANE.

THREE DAYS LATER,
ON THE NIGHT OF MAY 24,

A STRANGE, DRIVEN MAN
CALLED FIVE UNARMED SETTLERS

WHOM HE BELIEVED FAVORED SLAVERY

OUT OF THEIR CABINS
ON POTTAWATOMIE CREEK.

WITH THE HELP OF HIS SONS,

HE HACKED THEM TO DEATH
WITH BROADSWORDS.

IT WAS A "WAR TO THE DEATH
BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL,"

JOHN BROWN SAID.

"WE MUST FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE."

[ GUNSHOT ]

DURING THE NEXT THREE MONTHS,
SOME 200 MORE MEN WOULD DIE

IN WHAT WOULD COME TO BE KNOWN
AS "BLEEDING KANSAS."

AUGUST 25, 1856.

WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF WAR --
WAR OF THE MOST BLOODY KIND --

A WAR OF EXTERMINATION.

FREEDOM AND SLAVERY ARE
INTERLOCKED IN DEADLY EMBRACE,

AND DEATH IS CERTAIN
FOR ONE OR THE OTHER PARTY.

A CRISIS IS JUST BEFORE US,

AND ONLY GOD KNOWETH
WHERE IT WILL END --

JULIA LOUISA LOVEJOY.

WE ARE GATHERED HERE
TO BUILD UP THE KINGDOM OF GOD,

TO MAKE THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOM
AS THE ROSE

AND FILL THESE MOUNTAINS
WITH CITIES.

MY SOUL FEELS HALLELUJAH,

IT EXALTS IN GOD,
THAT HE HAS PLANTED THIS PEOPLE

IN A PLACE THAT IS NOT DESIRED
BY THE WICKED --

BRIGHAM YOUNG.

Narrator: IT HAD BEEN 10 YEARS

SINCE BRIGHAM YOUNG
LED HIS LATTER-DAY SAINTS WEST.

AND WHILE
THE REST OF THE COUNTRY

WRESTLED WITH THE QUESTION
OF SLAVERY,

HE CONTINUED TO BUILD HIS MORMON
KINGDOM IN THE DESERTS OF UTAH.

SALT LAKE CITY,
WITH NEARLY 10,000 RESIDENTS,

WAS NOW THE SECOND-LARGEST CITY
WEST OF MISSOURI --

ECLIPSED ONLY BY SAN FRANCISCO.

NEW COLONIES
STRETCHED FOR 300 MILES

ALONG THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS.

THE MORMONS
PRINTED THEIR OWN CURRENCY,

DROVE FEDERAL OFFICIALS
OUT OF UTAH,

AND PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED
THAT POLYGAMY --

PLURAL MARRIAGE --
WAS PART OF CHURCH DOCTRINE.

POLYGAMY WAS MOSTLY MEANT
FOR IMPORTANT MORMON LEADERS.

BRIGHAM YOUNG HIMSELF
HAD 27 WIVES.

YOUNG'S CHIEF LIEUTENANT,
HEBER KIMBALL, HAD 43.

MOST POLYGAMISTS
HAD NO MORE THAN TWO WIVES.

AND FOUR OUT OF FIVE MORMON MEN
HAD JUST ONE.

STILL, THE PRACTICE TURNED
MANY AMERICANS AGAINST THEM.

AS TO POLYGAMY, I CHARGE IT
TO BE A CRYING EVIL,

SAPPING NOT ONLY
THE PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION

OF THE PEOPLE PRACTICING IT,
BUT AT THE SAME TIME

PERVERTING THE SOCIAL VIRTUES
AND MORALS OF ITS VICTIMS.

IT IS A SCARLET WHORE.

IT IS A REPROACH
TO THE CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION,

AND IT DESERVES
TO BE BLOTTED OUT --

CONGRESSMAN JOHN A. McCLERNAND,
ILLINOIS.

Narrator:
IN THE ELECTION OF 1856,

THE BRAND-NEW REPUBLICAN PARTY
RAN ON A PLATFORM

OPPOSED TO WHAT THEY CALLED THE
"TWIN RELICS OF BARBARISM" --

SLAVERY AND POLYGAMY.

THE REPUBLICANS LOST, BUT
THE ISSUES WOULD NOT GO AWAY.

MR. PRESIDENT,

I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN
SUPERSEDE THE NEGRO-MANIA

WITH THE ALMOST UNIVERSAL
EXCITEMENT

OF AN ANTIMORMON CRUSADE,

AND THE PIPINGS OF ABOLITIONISM
WILL HARDLY BE HEARD

AMIDST THE THUNDERS OF THE
STORM THAT WE SHALL RAISE --

ROBERT TYLER.

Duncan: AND WHEN DEMOCRAT
JAMES BUCHANAN WON THE ELECTION,

TO SORT OF TAKE THE HEAT OFF

OF THIS BUILDING TENSION
OVER SLAVERY,

HE DID A VERY REMARKABLE THING

THAT'S ONLY HAPPENED
A FEW TIMES IN OUR HISTORY --

HE SENT AN ARMY OUT AGAINST
CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES.

Narrator: IN THE SUMMER OF 1857,

2,500 TROOPS HEADED TOWARD UTAH
TO REASSERT FEDERAL CONTROL.

AT THE SAME TIME, THE ARMY
SLOWLY MADE ITS WAY WEST.

A LONE WAGON TRAIN

ENTERED THE SOUTHERN PART
OF MORMON TERRITORY.

THEY WERE SETTLERS MOSTLY,

FAMILIES TRAVELING
WITH SMALL CHILDREN,

ON THEIR WAY TO CALIFORNIA
AND A BETTER LIFE.

BUT RIDING WITH THEM
WERE A BAND OF MEN

WHO CALLED THEMSELVES
THE "MISSOURI WILDCATS,"

AND THEY WERE BENT
ON CAUSING TROUBLE

FOR THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS.

THEY SWORE AND BOASTED OPENLY

THAT BUCHANAN'S WHOLE ARMY
WAS COMING RIGHT BEHIND THEM

AND WOULD KILL
"EVERY GODDAMN MORMON IN UTAH."

THEY HAD TWO BULLS

WHICH THEY CALLED ONE "HEBER"
AND THE OTHER "BRIGHAM"

AND WHIPPED 'EM
THROUGH EVERY TOWN,

YELLING AND SINGING
AND BLASPHEMING OATHS

THAT WOULD HAVE MADE YOUR HAIR
STAND ON END --

JOHN D. LEE.

Narrator: ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1857,

THE WAGONS REACHED A GRASSY AREA
CALLED "MOUNTAIN MEADOWS."

THERE, SOME 200 PAIUTE WARRIORS,

ENCOURAGED BY THE MORMONS,
ATTACKED.

[ INDIAN WAR CRIES, GUNSHOTS ]

THE EMIGRANTS DROVE THEM BACK.

THE INDIANS SETTLED IN
FOR A SIEGE,

THEN ASKED THE MORMONS
TO JOIN THEM

IN DESTROYING THE COMMON ENEMY.

ELDERS SENT A MESSAGE
TO SALT LAKE CITY,

ASKING BRIGHAM YOUNG
WHAT THEY SHOULD DO.

YOUNG SENT A COURIER BACK WITH
ORDERS TO LET THE WAGONS GO.

BUT BEFORE THE MESSAGE ARRIVED,
THE MORMONS AT MOUNTAIN MEADOWS

RESOLVED TO WIPE OUT
THE WAGON TRAIN

AND BLAME IT ON THE PAIUTES.

ONE OF THE MEN ORDERED TO LEAD
THE FIGHTING WAS JOHN D. LEE,

A MORMON SO LOYAL
THAT BRIGHAM YOUNG HIMSELF

HAD ADOPTED HIM
AS A SPIRITUAL SON.

LEE WAS USED TO FOLLOWING
CHURCH ORDERS.

HE WAS, AS HE SAID, "AS CLAY
IN THE HANDS OF THE POTTER,"

WHEN IT CAME TO CARRYING OUT
THE WISHES OF HIS ELDERS.

BUT EVEN HE WAS STUNNED AT WHAT
HE WAS NOW BEING ASKED TO DO.

Lee: THE ORDERS SAID
TO DECOY THE EMIGRANTS

FROM THEIR POSITION, AND KILL
ALL OF THEM THAT COULD TALK.

THIS ORDER WAS IN WRITING.

I READ IT, AND THEN
DROPPED IT ON THE GROUND,

SAYING, "I CANNOT DO THIS."

I BOWED MYSELF
IN PRAYER BEFORE GOD,

AND MY TORTURED SOUL
WAS WRUNG NEARLY FROM MY BODY

BY THE GREAT SUFFERING.

IF I HAD THEN HAD
A THOUSAND WORLDS TO COMMAND,

I WOULD HAVE GIVEN THEM FREELY

TO SAVE THAT COMPANY
FROM DEATH.

Narrator: BUT IN THE END,

JOHN D. LEE
DECIDED TO FOLLOW ORDERS.

ON THE MORNING
OF SEPTEMBER 11, HE RODE OUT

TO THE BESIEGED WAGON TRAIN
UNDER A FLAG OF TRUCE.

Duncan: JOHN D. LEE
AND SOME OTHERS CAME TO THEM

AND SAID, "THROW DOWN YOUR ARMS,

"WE'VE GOT THE INDIANS
UNDER CONTROL.

YOU COME OUT WITH US,
AND YOU'LL BE SAFE."

AND THEY WERE RELUCTANT
TO DO IT, BUT THEY FINALLY DID.

AND AS THEY MARCHED OUT, THE
ORDER WAS GIVEN, "DO YOUR DUTY."

[ GUNSHOT ]

Narrator:
THE MORMONS OPENED FIRE,

EACH MAN ASSIGNED TO SHOOT THE
EMIGRANT WALKING NEXT TO HIM.

[ GUNSHOT ]

LEE'S TASK
WAS TO KILL THE SICK AND WOUNDED

RIDING IN A WAGON
IN FRONT OF THE OTHERS.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

THEN THE PAIUTES SWEPT IN
AND FINISHED OFF THE REST.

[ WAR CRIES, GUNSHOTS ]

IN LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR,

120 PEOPLE HAD BEEN BUTCHERED
AT MOUNTAIN MEADOWS.

ONLY 17 CHILDREN WERE SPARED,

THOUGHT TOO YOUNG
EVER TO TELL THE HORRIBLE STORY.

THE DEAD WERE STRIPPED OF
THEIR CLOTHING AND BELONGINGS,

WHICH THE MORMONS SOLD
AT AUCTION.

THEY WERE HASTILY BURIED
IN SHALLOW GRAVES --

AND SOON DUG UP AGAIN
BY WILD ANIMALS.

Man: WELL, I'M A GREAT-GRANDSON
OF JOHN D. LEE.

MY MIDDLE NAME IS LEE.

AND I HAVE STUDIED HIS LIFE
AND HIS TRAGEDIES.

I WILL ALWAYS BELIEVE

THAT IT COULD ONLY HAVE HAPPENED
AT THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT,

THAT IF THIS WAGON TRAIN
HAD COME THROUGH,

AS THEY HAD BEFORE, TWO WEEKS
EARLIER, TWO WEEKS LATER,

THEY MIGHT HAVE GONE UNSCATHED,
SO IT'S ALMOST A GREEK TRAGEDY.

Narrator:
TWO DAYS AFTER THE MASSACRE,

BRIGHAM YOUNG'S MESSENGER

FINALLY ARRIVED
AT MOUNTAIN MEADOWS

WITH THE ORDERS
TO LET THE WAGON TRAIN PASS.

JOHN D. LEE WAS CHOSEN
TO RIDE TO SALT LAKE CITY

AND TELL BRIGHAM YOUNG
WHAT HAD HAPPENED.

PRECISELY HOW MUCH
THE MORMON LEADER WAS TOLD

OF HIS PEOPLE'S ROLE
IN THE SLAUGHTER IS UNCLEAR.

PUBLICLY, YOUNG BLAMED IT ALL
ON THE PAIUTES.

MEANWHILE, WINTER HAD STOPPED
BUCHANAN'S ARMY'S ADVANCE,

AND THE "MORMON WAR" ENDED
BEFORE IT REALLY BEGAN.

IN A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT,

THE PRESIDENT PARDONED
YOUNG AND HIS FOLLOWERS

FOR INCITING A REBELLION,

AND YOUNG IN TURN
RESIGNED AS GOVERNOR --

BUT HE REMAINED IN
EFFECTIVE CONTROL OF HIS PEOPLE.

THE ATTEMPT
TO DIVERT THE NATION'S ATTENTION

FROM SLAVERY HAD FAILED.

FOUR YEARS LATER, BRIGHAM YOUNG
STOPPED AT MOUNTAIN MEADOWS.

FEDERAL TROOPS,
OUTRAGED AT THE MASSACRE,

HAD ERECTED A MAKESHIFT MONUMENT
TO THOSE WHO HAD BEEN MURDERED.

ON IT WERE THE WORDS,

"VENGEANCE IS MINE, SAITH
THE LORD, AND I WILL REPAY."

YOUNG GAZED AT IT FOR A TIME,

THEN ORDERED THE MONUMENT
TORN DOWN.

"VENGEANCE IS MINE,"
HE MUTTERED,

"AND I HAVE TAKEN A LITTLE."

MEXICANS!

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT JUSTICE
HAD FLED FROM THIS WORLD,

LEAVING YOU TO THE CAPRICE
OF YOUR OPPRESSORS,

WHO HAVE BECOME EACH DAY
MORE FURIOUS TOWARD YOU.

MY PART IS TAKEN,

THE VOICE OF REVELATION
WHISPERS

THAT THE LORD WILL ENABLE ME,
WITH POWERFUL ARM,

TO FIGHT AGAINST OUR ENEMIES --

JUAN CORTINA.

Narrator: THE TREATY THAT
ENDED THE MEXICAN WAR IN 1848

HAD PROMISED ALL THE BENEFITS
OF UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP

TO MEXICAN-AMERICANS.

BUT AS CIVIL WAR NEARED,
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROVED

UNABLE OR UNWILLING
TO KEEP ITS PROMISES.

IN CALIFORNIA,
NEW MEXICO, AND TEXAS,

MANY MEXICAN-AMERICANS
WERE DENIED THE RIGHT TO VOTE,

LOST THEIR LANDS IN COURT,

AND OFTEN FOUND THEMSELVES
PERSECUTED,

RATHER THAN PROTECTED,
BY OFFICERS OF THE LAW.

ON JULY 13, 1859,
A RANCHER NAMED JUAN CORTINA

RODE INTO BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS,
TO BUY SUPPLIES.

HE WAS A MEMBER
OF AN OLD, LANDED MEXICAN FAMILY

THAT HAD SEEN
ITS POWER AND INFLUENCE DECLINE

WITH THE ARRIVAL
OF THE AMERICANS.

ON THE MAIN STREET,
HE SAW THE CITY MARSHAL

PISTOL-WHIPPING
A MEXICAN LABORER

WHO HAD ONCE WORKED
FOR HIS FAMILY.

WHEN THE SHERIFF
REFUSED TO STOP,

CORTINA SHOT HIM
IN THE SHOULDER,

SWEPT THE PRISONER
ONTO THE BACK OF HIS HORSE,

AND RODE OFF WITH HIM.

A LITTLE OVER TWO MONTHS LATER,
WITH SOME 75 ARMED FOLLOWERS,

HE RODE INTO TOWN AGAIN,
FREED 12 PRISONERS FROM JAIL,

[ GUNSHOT ]

SEIZED ARMS AND AMMUNITION,

[ GUNSHOT ]

AND SHOT DEAD THREE AMERICANS
WHOM HE SAID HAD KILLED MEXICANS

WHILE THE LAW
LOOKED THE OTHER WAY.

[ GUNSHOT ]

THEN, CORTINA RETURNED TO HIS
RANCH AND ISSUED A PROCLAMATION.

Cortina:
WHEN THE STATE OF TEXAS

BECAME PART OF THE UNION,

FLOCKS OF VAMPIRES,
IN THE GUISE OF MEN,

CAME WITH CORRUPT HEARTS AND
THE MOST PERVERSE INTENTIONS.

BECAUSE YOUR INDUSTRY
EXCITED THEIR VILE AVARICE,

MANY OF YOU MEXICANS HAVE BEEN
ROBBED OF YOUR PROPERTY,

INCARCERATED, MURDERED,
AND HUNTED LIKE WILD BEASTS.

MEXICANS!
IS THERE NO REMEDY FOR YOU?

Narrator: FOR SEVERAL MONTHS,
DESPITE CONSTANT PURSUIT

BY AMERICAN SETTLERS
AND MEXICAN NATIONAL GUARDSMEN,

CORTINA AND HIS MEN HELD ONTO
THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY.

SYMPATHETIC MEXICANS
ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER

SECRETLY PROVIDED THEM
WITH FOOD AND SUPPLIES.

"OUR PERSONAL ENEMIES,"
CORTINA VOWED,

"SHALL NOT POSSESS OUR LANDS

UNTIL THEY HAVE FATTENED IT
WITH THEIR GORE."

FINALLY, THE STATE MILITIA,
KNOWN AS THE TEXAS RANGERS,

WAS SENT AGAINST HIM.

Man: WELL, JUAN CORTINA,
HE WAS THEIR HERO.

TO THE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE
THE SMALL RANCHERS AND SO FORTH,

HE WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS
ABLE TO STAND UP AND SAY,

"YOU'RE TAKING OUR LAND AND
NOW YOU TAKE AWAY OUR DIGNITY

"AND NOW YOU MISTREAT US.

YOU PUSH US AROUND.
WE'VE HAD IT!"

THE TEXAS RANGERS
DIDN'T ALLOW ANYONE

TO RISE UP
AS THE CHAMPION OF THE PEOPLE.

AND WHEN YOU TOOK ON THE LAW,

YOU USUALLY GOT LYNCHED
IN THAT BORDER REGION.

AND THAT'S EXACTLY
WHAT THEY HAD INTENDED FOR HIM,

JUST TO CATCH HIM
AND LYNCH HIM AND --

AS SORT OF AN EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU
DON'T DEFY THE NEW GOVERNMENT.

Narrator: THE RANGERS --
NOW BACKED BY FEDERAL TROOPS --

PURSUED CORTINA'S MEN
TO RIO GRANDE CITY

AND CLOSED IN FOR THE KILL.

[ GUNSHOT ]

CORTINA WAS THE LAST
TO LEAVE THE FIELD.

HE FACED HIS PURSUERS,
EMPTIED HIS REVOLVER,

AND TRIED TO HALT
HIS PANIC-STRICKEN MEN.

ONE SHOT STRUCK
THE CANTLE OF HIS SADDLE,

ONE CUT A LOCK OF HAIR
FROM HIS HEAD,

A THIRD CUT HIS BRIDLE REIN,

A FOURTH PASSED THROUGH
HIS HORSE'S EAR,

AND A FIFTH STRUCK HIS BELT,
BUT HE GALLOPED OFF UNHURT --

COLONEL J. S. FORD.

Narrator: CORTINA FLED
ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE.

FOR ANOTHER 15 YEARS,
HE AND OTHERS

CONTINUED TO LAUNCH RAIDS
ON AMERICAN SETTLERS

AND STEAL TEXAS CATTLE.

THE BORDER REGION REMAINED
A "NO MAN'S LAND."

AS HIS LEGEND GREW,

ANGLOS DENOUNCED CORTINA
AS A MURDEROUS REBEL,

BUT TO MEXICAN-AMERICANS

HE WAS THE ROBIN HOOD
OF THE RIO GRANDE.

Romo:
MY GRANDFATHER TALKED ABOUT HIM,

AND MY UNCLE CLAIMS HIM
AS A RELATIVE,

AND I WAS SORT OF STRUCK
BY THAT.

TO EVERY FAMILY HE WAS PART
OF US IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

HIS LEGEND IS PASSED ON.
HIS LIFE LIVES ON.

OUR NEW ENGLAND FRIENDS MAY
WONDER THAT THE WARLIKE SPIRIT

HAS TAKEN SUCH HOLD UPON THOSE
WHO, UNTIL THEY CAME TO KANSAS,

WERE AS COMPLETE PACIFISTS
AS THE MOST ORTHODOX QUAKER.

BUT SIR, SUCH INDIVIDUALS ONLY
NEED A LITTLE KANSAS EXPERIENCE

TO UNDERSTAND THE MATTER --

JULIA LOUISA LOVEJOY.

Narrator: ON OCTOBER 16, 1859,

JOHN BROWN BROUGHT HIS KANSAS
BRAND OF ABOLITIONISM EAST

TO HARPERS FERRY, VIRGINIA,

WHERE HE TRIED TO START
A SLAVE REBELLION.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

TEN PEOPLE WERE KILLED.

BROWN WAS CAPTURED, TRIED,
AND SENTENCED TO HANG.

AS HE WAS LED TO THE GALLOWS,

HE HANDED A GUARD
A SLIP OF PAPER.

"I AM NOW QUITE CERTAIN,"
IT READ,

"THAT THE CRIMES
OF THIS GUILTY LAND

WILL NEVER BE PURGED AWAY
BUT BY BLOOD."

THE WHOLE COUNTRY WAS NOW
BEGINNING TO EXPERIENCE THE FEAR

THAT HAD GRIPPED KANSAS
FOR SO LONG.

IN 1860,
THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE,

ABRAHAM LINCOLN,
WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT,

PLEDGED TO HALT SLAVERY'S
FURTHER SPREAD IN THE WEST.

[ CANNON SHOTS ]

ONE BY ONE, THE SOUTHERN
SLAVE STATES LEFT THE UNION.

AND ON APRIL 12, 1861,
REBEL GUNS FIRED ON FORT SUMTER.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

THE CIVIL WAR THAT HAD
ALREADY BEGUN IN THE WEST

NOW EXPLODED IN THE EAST.

[ GUNSHOT ]

Man: JULY 15, 1861.
WASH DAY IN CAMP.

WE WENT TO DEMPSEY'S RANCH
AFTER TWO COWS

AND BORROWED
A SMALL FRAGMENT OF A NEWSPAPER

THAT TOLMAN AND JACKSON BROUGHT
FROM FORT OWEN

ON THE BITTERROOT.

BAD NEWS FROM THE STATES --

THE NORTH AND SOUTH
ARE FIGHTING.

Narrator: IN COLORADO,
REGIMENTS OF UNION VOLUNTEERS

WERE RECRUITED TO PROTECT
THE RICH MINING DISTRICTS

FROM THE CONFEDERATES.

ONE OF THE FIRST TO STEP FORWARD
WAS A BIG, BEARISH,

METHODIST MINISTER
NAMED JOHN M. CHIVINGTON.

HE WAS 6 1/2 FEET TALL,
WEIGHED 250 POUNDS,

AND SOMETIMES DELIVERED SERMONS

WITH A REVOLVER
RESTING ON THE PULPIT.

CHIVINGTON,
ONE ACQUAINTANCE IN DENVER SAID,

IS "A CRAZY PREACHER WHO THINKS
HE IS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE."

OFFERED A CHAPLAIN'S COMMISSION,
CHIVINGTON REFUSED.

HE WANTED TO FIGHT
FOR THE UNION, HE SAID,

NOT JUST PRAY FOR IT.

MEANWHILE, IN JANUARY OF 1862,

A CONFIDENT REBEL ARMY
OF 3,500 SOLDIERS

HAD MARCHED WEST OUT OF TEXAS
INTO NEW MEXICO,

WHERE IT DEFEATED UNION FORCES
AT VALVERDE, SEIZED ALBUQUERQUE,

PLUNDERED SANTA FE,
AND MOVED NORTH TOWARD COLORADO.

THEIR PLAN WAS TO CAPTURE DENVER

AND THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN
GOLD FIELDS,

THEN SWEEP ALL THE WAY WEST
TO TAKE CALIFORNIA

AND ITS MOTHER LODE
OF MINERAL WEALTH.

THEIR MOTTO WAS
"ON TO SAN FRANCISCO,"

BUT THEY HADN'T
COUNTED ON CHIVINGTON.

Man: HERE'S THIS ARMY OF TEXANS

THINKING
THEY CAN LIVE OFF THE LAND.

THEN THEY MOVE
THROUGH NEW MEXICO TERRITORY

WINNING THEIR BATTLES,

AND THEY GET UP THERE
TO NORTHERN NEW MEXICO

AND THEY HAVE NO IDEA

THAT THERE'S ANOTHER ARMY
COMING AT THEM.

Narrator:
CHIVINGTON WAS NOW A MAJOR

WITH THE FIRST
COLORADO VOLUNTEERS --

HARD-DRINKING MINERS,
EAGER FOR A FIGHT.

THEY HAD MARCHED 40 MILES A DAY
THROUGH ICE AND SNOW

AND FREEZING WINDS
TO STOP THE TEXANS.

THEY MET IN A PLACE
CALLED "APACHE CANYON."

CHIVINGTON SENT SOME OF HIS MEN
SCURRYING UP THE CANYON SIDES.

"THEY WERE UP ON THE WALLS
ON BOTH SIDES OF US,"

ONE CONFEDERATE REMEMBERED,
"SHOOTING US DOWN LIKE SHEEP."

THEN CHIVINGTON HIMSELF
LED THE CHARGE.

MAJOR CHIVINGTON,
WITH A PISTOL IN EACH HAND,

CHAWED HIS LIPS WITH ONLY LESS
ENERGY THAN HE GAVE HIS ORDERS.

OF COMMANDING PRESENCE,
DRESSED IN FULL REGIMENTALS,

HE WAS A CONSPICUOUS MARK
FOR THE TEXAN SHARPSHOOTERS.

BUT AS IF POSSESSED
OF A CHARMED LIFE,

HE GALLOPED UNHURT
THROUGH THE STORM OF BULLETS --

OVANDO J. HOLLISTER.

Narrator: THE REBELS FELL BACK.

THE TWO ARMIES MET
TWO DAYS LATER AT GLORIETA PASS,

AND FOR FIVE BLOODY HOURS,

THEY SLAMMED AWAY AT EACH OTHER
AMIDST THE BOULDERS.

BUT WHILE THE BATTLE RAGED ON,
CHIVINGTON AND SOME OF HIS MEN

SLIPPED 16 MILES
BEHIND THE CONFEDERATE LINES,

TO A CLIFF THAT OVERLOOKED
THE TEXANS' SUPPLY WAGONS.

THERE, THEY LOWERED THEMSELVES
BY ROPES, DROVE OFF THE GUARDS,

BURNED 85 WAGONS
FILLED WITH PROVISIONS,

AND BAYONETED
500 HORSES AND MULES.

THE CONFEDERATES, WHO HAD SEEMED
SO CLOSE TO VICTORY,

NOW FACED STARVATION AND THIRST,
AS WELL AS A HOSTILE ENEMY.

Josephy: AND THEY HAD
TO TURN AROUND AND RETREAT,

GET OUT OF THERE.

AND THEY PANICKED.

THERE THEY WERE,

HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM THEIR
BASE IN SAN ANTONIO IN TEXAS.

NOTHING BUT DESERTS
AND MOUNTAINS

BETWEEN THEM AND THEIR HOMES.

Narrator: COLUMNS GOT LOST.
BOOTS WORE OUT.

MEN HAD TO STAGGER THROUGH
SEARING SAND IN BARE FEET.

SOLDIERS
ABANDONED THEIR WEAPONS,

COLLAPSED FROM EXHAUSTION,
DEHYDRATION, SUNSTROKE.

3,500 MEN HAD MARCHED OUT OF
TEXAS TO CONQUER THE SOUTHWEST.

1,500 OF THEM NEVER RETURNED.

THE DREAM OF A CONFEDERATE WEST
WAS DEAD.

GLORIETA PASS WOULD BECOME KNOWN
AS "THE GETTYSBURG OF THE WEST."

AND JOHN CHIVINGTON,
THE "FIGHTING PARSON,"

WAS A UNION HERO.

BALDWIN CITY, KANSAS,
OCTOBER 8, 1862.

OUR CAMP MEETING IN THIS PLACE
WAS A GLORIOUS SUCCESS.

REVEREND CHIVINGTON,
WHO WITH HIS COMMAND

HAS ACCOMPLISHED SUCH WONDERS
OF LATE IN NEW MEXICO,

WAS PRESENT AND PREACHED FROM
THE STAND IN HIS REGIMENTALS.

HIS PERSUASIVE ELOQUENCE

AND CLEAR, RINGING, STENTORIAN
VOICE SWAYED THE MULTITUDE

LIKE A WESTERN TORNADO,
AS IT BENDS ITS MASSIVE OAKS.

THE WORK OF GOD
IS STILL GOING ON --

JULIA LOUISA LOVEJOY.

Duncan: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
REALLY DIDN'T HAVE

MUCH OF A GRASP
AND CONTROL OF THE WEST

BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.

BUT ONCE THE WAR STARTED,

THEY WERE CONCENTRATING ON
ALL THOSE BATTLES IN THE EAST,

AND WHATEVER CONTROL THEY HAD,
THEY LOST IT ENTIRELY.

Man: THE CIVIL WAR DOES CREATE
MORE OF A VACUUM IN THE WEST.

AND THE RESULT IS IS THERE'S
GOING TO BE FAR MORE VIOLENCE.

IT'S GOING TO BE FAR HARDER
TO MEDIATE THINGS.

THINGS ARE GOING TO BE MUCH MORE
OUT OF CONTROL IN THE 1860s

THAN THEY EVER WOULD HAVE BEEN
OTHERWISE.

Narrator: BY THE SUMMER OF 1863,

THE NORTH SEEMED TO BE WINNING
THE CIVIL WAR.

ROBERT E. LEE'S ADVANCE
INTO PENNSYLVANIA

HAD BEEN STOPPED AT GETTYSBURG,

AND ULYSSES S. GRANT
HAD SPLIT THE CONFEDERACY IN TWO

BY TAKING THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER TOWN OF VICKSBURG.

YET FOR ALL THE FIGHTING
BACK EAST,

THERE HAD BEEN
FEW CIVILIAN CASUALTIES.

IN THE WEST,
IT WAS A VERY DIFFERENT WAR.

GUERRILLA PARTIES
ARE MAKING DREADFUL SLAUGHTER

UPON THE UNION MEN IN MISSOURI

AND STEALING AND DESTROYING
THEIR PROPERTY.

THE ENTIRE ROUTE
ACROSS THE STATE

BEARS THE MARKS
OF THE RAVAGES OF WAR.

ANARCHY REIGNS IN MISSOURI --

JULIA LOUISA LOVEJOY.

Narrator:
IN KANSAS AND MISSOURI,

BOTH SIDES WAGED
RELENTLESS GUERRILLA WARFARE

ON INNOCENT CIVILIANS,
AS WELL AS RIVAL ARMIES.

UNION FORCES WERE LED
BY JAMES H. LANE,

A CADAVEROUS FORMER SENATOR
FROM KANSAS,

WHO WANTED TO SEE
PROSLAVERY MISSOURIANS

CAST INTO A BURNING HELL.

HE DID HIS BEST TO DO JUST THAT,

HAUNTING THE TRAIL
OF REBEL ARMIES,

RAVAGING THE HOMES
OF ANYONE WHO DARED HELP THEM,

THEN SACKING AND BURNING
WHOLE TOWNS.

CONFEDERATE GUERRILLAS
RESPONDED IN KIND.

THEIR MOST CELEBRATED LEADER WAS
A FORMER SCHOOLTEACHER FROM OHIO

WITH LIMITLESS ENTHUSIASM
FOR LOOTING AND KILLING,

NAMED WILLIAM QUANTRILL.

UNION FARMERS, HE WARNED, SHOULD
NOT BOTHER TO PLANT CROPS.

THEY WOULD NOT LIVE
TO HARVEST THEM.

AND HE SWORE HE WOULD BURN
JIM LANE AT THE STAKE.

AND OF COURSE,
IF YOU'RE A GUERRILLA FIGHTER

AND YOU FIGHT UNDER THE FLAG
OF THE CONFEDERACY,

THEY IMPART TO YOU LEGITIMACY.

FROM THE UNION POINT OF VIEW,
THESE WERE SHEER CRIMINALS.

Narrator:
ONE OF QUANTRILL'S RAIDERS

WAS AN ACCUSED HORSE THIEF
KNOWN AS "BLOODY BILL" ANDERSON.

HE WORE A NECKLACE
OF YANKEE SCALPS INTO BATTLE,

LAUGHED AS UNARMED PRISONERS
WERE GUNNED DOWN,

THEN ORDERED HIS MEN
TO MUTILATE THEIR CORPSES.

"I WILL KILL YOU,"

HE WROTE TO THE READERS
OF ONE ANTISLAVERY NEWSPAPER.

"I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN
LIKE WOLVES AND MURDER YOU."

ON THE MORNING
OF AUGUST 21, 1863,

QUANTRILL, ANDERSON,
AND 450 MEN RODE TOWARDS

THE ANTISLAVERY STRONGHOLD
OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS --

HOME OF JIM LANE.

WITH HER HUSBAND
SERVING IN THE UNION ARMY,

JULIA LOUISA LOVEJOY
AND HER CHILDREN

NOW LIVED IN A LITTLE HOUSE
JUST OUTSIDE OF TOWN.

[ GUNSHOT ]

Lovejoy: AT AN EARLY HOUR
FRIDAY MORNING, I RUSHED OUT,

AND I COULD THEN SEE EVERY
HOUSE THIS SIDE OF LAWRENCE

WITH A VOLUME OF DENSE SMOKE
ARISING FROM THEM

AS THEY ADVANCED,

FIRING EVERY HOUSE
IN THEIR MARCH OF DEATH.

[ GUNSHOT ]

Narrator: THE RAIDERS SURROUNDED
A DOWNTOWN HOTEL.

A GUEST HUNG A WHITE SHEET
FROM THE WINDOW

AND ASKED QUANTRILL
WHAT HE WANTED.

"PLUNDER!" HE ANSWERED.

THE GUESTS WERE ORDERED OUT
AND ROBBED.

THE HOTEL WAS SET AFIRE.

QUANTRILL, WAVING TWO OF THE SIX
PISTOLS HE CARRIED,

ROSE IN HIS STIRRUPS
AND SHOUTED, "KILL! KILL!

"LAWRENCE MUST BE CLEANSED,

AND THE ONLY WAY TO CLEANSE IT
IS TO KILL!"

THEN, WHILE QUANTRILL DEMANDED
THAT THE TERRIFIED STAFF

OF ANOTHER HOTEL
COOK HIM A BIG BREAKFAST,

ANDERSON AND HIS MEN BEGAN
TO CARRY OUT QUANTRILL'S ORDERS.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

Lovejoy:
ALL THE BUSINESS HOUSES,

BANKS, STORES IN THE CITY WERE
ROBBED AND BURNED SAVE ONE,

AND MOST OF THE BUSINESSMEN
KILLED.

MRS. REED PUT OUT THE FIRE
SIX TIMES TO SAVE HER HOUSE,

AND THEY WOULD FIRE IT ANEW,

BUT SHE, BY ALMOST
SUPERHUMAN EXERTIONS, SAVED IT.

ONE LADY THREW HER ARMS
AROUND HER HUSBAND

AND BEGGED OF THEM
TO SPARE HIS LIFE.

THEY RESTED THE PISTOL
ON HER ARM

AS IT WAS AROUND HIS BODY,
AND SHOT HIM DEAD,

AND THE FIRE FROM THE PISTOL

BURNT THE SLEEVE
OF HER DRESS.

Narrator:
183 MEN AND BOYS WERE KILLED --

FEWER THAN 20
HAD BEEN SOLDIERS --

AND 185 HOMES WERE BURNED

BEFORE QUANTRILL AND HIS MEN
RODE OUT OF LAWRENCE,

LEAVING BEHIND 80 WIDOWS,
250 FATHERLESS CHILDREN.

JIM LANE, THE PRINCIPAL TARGET
OF THE RAID,

HAD MANAGED TO ESCAPE THROUGH
A CORNFIELD IN HIS NIGHTSHIRT.

Lovejoy: THE FIRES WERE
STILL GLOWING IN THE CELLARS.

HERE AND THERE AMONG THE EMBERS

COULD BE SEEN THE BONES
OF THOSE WHO HAD PERISHED.

THE SICKENING ODOR
OF BURNED FLESH WAS OPPRESSIVE.

[ FIRE CRACKLES ]

Narrator:
TO AVENGE THE LAWRENCE MASSACRE,

FEDERAL TROOPS
FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES

EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD

LIVING IN THREE MISSOURI BORDER
COUNTIES, AND HALF OF A FOURTH.

THEY DROVE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
ONTO THE OPEN PRAIRIE,

WHILE UNION GUERRILLAS
FOLLOWED IN THEIR WAKE,

BURNING AND LOOTING THE EMPTY
HOUSES THEY LEFT BEHIND,

RAIDING THE REFUGEE COLUMNS,
STEALING EVEN WEDDING RINGS.

Lovejoy: THE VERY AIR SEEMS
CHARGED WITH BLOOD AND DEATH,

PANDEMONIUM ITSELF
SEEMS TO HAVE BROKEN LOOSE,

AND DEATH RUNS RIOT
OVER THE COUNTRY.

Narrator: DURING THE COURSE
OF THE CIVIL WAR,

NO CIVILIANS WOULD SUFFER MORE

THAN THE PEOPLE OF KANSAS
AND MISSOURI.

WE JUMPED INTO THE STAGE,
THE DRIVER CRACKED HIS WHIP,

AND WE BOWLED AWAY AND LEFT
"THE STATES" BEHIND US.

THERE WAS A FRESHNESS
AND BREEZINESS

AND AN EXHILARATING SENSE
OF EMANCIPATION

THAT ALMOST MADE US FEEL
THAT THE YEARS WE HAD SPENT

IN THE CLOSE, HOT CITY,
TOILING AND SLAVING,

HAD BEEN WASTED
AND THROWN AWAY --

SAM CLEMENS.

Narrator:
BACK IN THE SPRING OF 1861,

24-YEAR-OLD SAM CLEMENS AND
HIS ELDER BROTHER LEFT MISSOURI

FOR THE NEWLY CREATED
NEVADA TERRITORY.

TWO WEEKS
IN THE CONFEDERATE MILITIA

HAD CONVINCED SAM THAT
HE WAS NOT CUT OUT FOR COMBAT.

LIKE THOUSANDS OF OTHER
YOUNG MEN, NORTH AND SOUTH,

HE PREFERRED TO GO WEST
RATHER THAN TO WAR.

AND SO HE SKEDADDLED.

Clemens:
HAM AND EGGS AND SCENERY,

A "DOWN GRADE," A FLYING COACH,

A FRAGRANT PIPE,
AND A CONTENTED HEART --

IT IS WHAT ALL THE AGES
HAVE STRUGGLED FOR.

Narrator:
THEY MADE 8 TO 10 MILES AN HOUR

THROUGH AN UNBROKEN
SEA OF GRASS.

A PONY EXPRESS RIDER
GALLOPED PAST.

COYOTES HOWLED.

THEY SAW BUFFALO,
ENCOUNTERED THEIR FIRST INDIANS,

TALKED WITH A REAL-LIFE OUTLAW.

SAM CLEMENS LOVED IT ALL.

IT TOOK THEM 20 DAYS
TO REACH CARSON CITY,

THE SMALL TOWN THAT WAS
THE CAPITAL OF NEVADA TERRITORY.

Clemens: DEAR MOTHER,

OUR CITY LIES IN THE MIDST
OF A DESERT OF THE PUREST,

MOST UNADULTERATED
AND UNCOMPROMISING SAND --

IN WHICH INFERNAL SOIL

NOTHING BUT THE FAG END
OF VEGETABLE CREATION,

"SAGEBRUSH,"
IS MEAN ENOUGH TO GROW.

NEVADA TERRITORY
IS FABULOUSLY RICH

IN GOLD, SILVER, LEAD,
COAL, IRON, QUICKSILVER,

THIEVES, MURDERERS,
DESPERADOES,

LAWYERS, CHRISTIANS,
INDIANS, CHINAMEN, SPANIARDS,

GAMBLERS, SHARPERS, COYOTES,
POETS,

PREACHERS,
AND JACKASS RABBITS.

Narrator: STILL, THERE WAS
LITTLE TO DO IN CARSON CITY,

SO CLEMENS SET OUT ON HIS OWN.

Clemens: BY AND BY I WAS
SMITTEN WITH SILVER FEVER.

PROSPECTING PARTIES

WERE LEAVING FOR THE MOUNTAINS
EVERY DAY.

PLAINLY, THIS WAS THE ROAD
TO FORTUNE.

Narrator: HE SPENT SIX MONTHS
WITH THREE PARTNERS

IN A 10- BY 12-FOOT CABIN,
PANNING, DIGGING, DRINKING,

GOING MORE AND MORE HEAVILY
INTO DEBT.

Clemens: WE WERE STARK MAD
WITH EXCITEMENT,

DRUNK WITH HAPPINESS,

SMOTHERED UNDER MOUNTAINS
OF PROSPECTIVE WEALTH,

ARROGANTLY COMPASSIONATE
TOWARD THE PLODDING MILLIONS

WHO KNEW NOT
OUR MARVELOUS CANYON.

BUT OUR CREDIT WAS NOT GOOD
AT THE GROCER'S.

Narrator:
CLEMENS WOULD LATER BOAST THAT

HE BECAME A MULTIMILLIONAIRE
FOR JUST 10 DAYS --

UNTIL 14 ARMED MEN
JUMPED HIS CLAIM.

NEXT HE TRIED HIS LUCK
IN VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADA.

IT WAS A TINY MINING TOWN
THAT HAD GROWN

TO A FULL-FLEDGED
INDUSTRIAL CITY

IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS.

15,000 PEOPLE LIVED THERE.

THEY HAD PUT IN GAS LIGHTS,
BUILT STOCK EXCHANGES,

3 THEATERS, 4 CHURCHES,
AND 42 SALOONS.

AND THERE WAS A NEWSPAPER,
THE TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE.

SAM CLEMENS TALKED HIMSELF
INTO A JOB AS A REPORTER.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

Clemens: DEAR MOTHER,

I HAVE JUST HEARD FIVE
PISTOL SHOTS DOWN THE STREET.

AS SUCH THINGS ARE IN MY LINE,
I WILL GO AND SEE ABOUT IT.

P.S. --
THE PISTOL DID ITS WORK WELL --

ONE MAN,
A JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURIAN,

SHOT TWO OF MY FRIENDS,
POLICE OFFICERS,

THROUGH THE HEART.

BOTH DIED WITHIN THREE MINUTES.

MURDERER'S NAME
IS JOHN CAMPBELL.

Narrator:
SOON, HE WAS COVERING EVERYTHING

FROM INDIAN ATTACKS
TO THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES,

ALWAYS IN HIS OWN
DISTINCTIVE STYLE.

"I HAVE HAD A 'CALL'
TO LITERATURE OF A LOW ORDER --

i.e. HUMOROUS,"
HE TOLD HIS MOTHER.

"IT IS NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF,
BUT IT IS MY STRONGEST SUIT."

IN THE WEST,
WHILE SITTING OUT THE WAR,

SAM CLEMENS
HAD FOUND A NEW CALLING,

AND HE BEGAN
TO SIGN HIS ARTICLES

WITH A NEW NAME, "MARK TWAIN."

Twain: IT IS BY THE GOODNESS
OF GOD THAT IN OUR COUNTRY

WE HAVE THOSE THREE
UNSPEAKABLY PRECIOUS THINGS --

FREEDOM OF SPEECH,
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE,

AND THE PRUDENCE NEVER
TO PRACTICE EITHER OF THEM.

LISTEN TO ME CAREFULLY,

AND TRUTHFULLY
FOLLOW UP MY INSTRUCTIONS.

YOU CHIEFS ARE PEACEMAKERS.

THOUGH YOUR SON MIGHT BE KILLED
IN FRONT OF YOUR TEPEE,

YOU SHOULD TAKE A PEACE PIPE
AND SMOKE.

THEN YOU WOULD BE
AN HONEST CHIEF --

SWEET MEDICINE.

Woman: A PEACE CHIEF
ASSUMED THE ROLE OF A FATHER

TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE TRIBE.

HE WAS SELECTED
BECAUSE OF HIS GOODNESS,

HIS GENEROSITY,
HIS BRAVERY, HIS COURAGE,

HIS CONCERN FOR THE WELL-BEING
OF OTHERS,

AND HE NEVER ACQUIRED WEALTH
FOR HIMSELF.

HE ACQUIRED WEALTH
TO GIVE TO THOSE LESS FORTUNATE,

SO THAT YOU GOT A FATHER,
A SPIRITUAL LEADER,

A TRUE SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE --
A PERSON THAT HAD TO LIVE

A MORALLY UPRIGHT LIFE
IN EVERY RESPECT.

Narrator: ONE OF THE MOST
RESPECTED PEACE CHIEFS

OF THE SOUTHERN CHEYENNE
WAS BLACK KETTLE.

AS A YOUNG MAN, HE HAD
PROVED HIMSELF AS A WARRIOR.

NOW, HE HAD COME TO BELIEVE

THAT MAINTAINING PEACE
WITH THE WHITES

WAS THE BEST WAY
FOR HIS PEOPLE TO SURVIVE.

IN 1861, BLACK KETTLE
AND OTHER PEACE CHIEFS

HAD SIGNED A TREATY AND AGREED
TO MOVE ONTO A SMALL RESERVATION

ALONG SAND CREEK,
SOUTHEAST OF DENVER.

BUT THE RESERVATION
WAS EMPTY OF GAME.

WHITES TRESPASSED ON IT.

SOME CHEYENNE WERE REDUCED
TO BEGGING SETTLERS FOR FOOD.

[ HORSE NEIGHS ]

SOON, EVEN BLACK KETTLE LEFT
FOR THE OLD HUNTING GROUNDS,

AND YOUNG CHEYENNE WARRIORS

BEGAN ATTACKING STAGECOACHES
AND DESTROYING OUTLYING RANCHES.

Man: THE YOUNG MEN'S EXUBERANCE
SOMETIMES WOULD GET OUT OF HAND,

AND SOME OF THE OLD CHIEFS JUST
SIMPLY COULDN'T CONTROL THEM.

YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT BEFORE
THE COMING OF THE WHITE SOLDIERS

AND BEFORE THE RESERVATION DAYS,
BOYS HAD A WAY TO BECOME MEN.

AND THE WAY BOYS BECAME MEN
WAS THROUGH

PROVING THEMSELVES IN HUNT
OR PROVING THEMSELVES IN BATTLE.

AND SO,
WHEN THINGS BEGAN TO CHANGE

AND SOME OF THE OLD CHIEFS
BEGAN TO GO THE PEACEFUL WAY

AND SAY WE CAN'T
KEEP ON WITH THIS,

WE'VE GOT TO FIND A PEACEFUL WAY

OF RESOLVING DIFFERENCES
AND SO ON,

SOMETIMES THE YOUNG MEN
FELT LEFT OUT.

THEY FELT THAT THEY WERE
BEING DENIED MANHOOD.

Man: THE DENVER COMMONWEALTH.
JUNE 15, 1864.

THE BODIES WERE BROUGHT
TO TOWN THIS MORNING.

IT WAS
A MOST SOLEMN SIGHT INDEED,

TO SEE THE MUTILATED CORPSES,

STRETCHED
IN THE STIFFNESS OF DEATH,

UPON THAT WAGON BED.

THE GENERAL REMARK
OF THE HUNDREDS OF SPECTATORS

WAS THAT THOSE THAT PERPETRATE

SUCH UNNATURAL,
BRUTAL BUTCHERY AS THIS

OUGHT TO BE HUNTED

TO THE FARTHEST BOUNDS
OF THESE BROAD PLAINS

AND BURNED AT THE STAKE ALIVE.

Narrator: THE GOVERNOR
OF COLORADO TERRITORY

ASKED WASHINGTON FOR TROOPS,

BUT WITH THE CIVIL WAR
STILL RAGING,

THERE WERE NONE TO SPARE.

HE THEN CALLED
FOR CIVILIAN VOLUNTEERS,

AND HUNDREDS SIGNED UP.

IN COMMAND ONCE AGAIN
WOULD BE THE FIGHTING PARSON --

JOHN CHIVINGTON,
THE HERO OF GLORIETA PASS.

NOW A COLONEL, HE BURNED
WITH POLITICAL AMBITION

AND SAW A WINNING ISSUE

IN RIDDING HIS REGION
OF ITS INDIANS.

MEANWHILE,
AN OLD TRADER NAMED WILLIAM BENT

DESPERATELY TRIED TO MAKE PEACE.

HE HAD BEEN LIVING
AMONG THE CHEYENNE

FOR NEARLY FOUR DECADES.

FOUR OF HIS CHILDREN
HAD CHEYENNE MOTHERS.

HE TOLD CHIVINGTON THAT THE
CHIEFS WANTED TO BE FRIENDLY.

CHIVINGTON REPLIED THAT HE WAS
NOT AUTHORIZED TO MAKE PEACE.

IN SEPTEMBER OF 1864,

BLACK KETTLE
AND SIX OTHER CHEYENNE CHIEFS

CAME TO FORT WELD, NEAR DENVER,
TO TALK.

AS EVIDENCE OF THEIR GOOD FAITH,

THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM
FOUR WHITE CAPTIVES

THEY HAD RANSOMED
FROM OTHER BANDS.

WE HAVE BEEN TRAVELING
THROUGH A CLOUD.

THE SKY HAS BEEN DARK
EVER SINCE THE WAR BEGAN.

WE WANT TO TAKE GOOD TIDINGS
HOME TO OUR PEOPLE,

THAT THEY MAY SLEEP IN PEACE.

I WANT ALL THE CHIEFS
OF THE SOLDIERS HERE

TO UNDERSTAND
THAT WE ARE FOR PEACE,

AND THAT WE HAVE MADE PEACE,

THAT WE MAY NOT BE MISTAKEN
FOR ENEMIES --

BLACK KETTLE.

Narrator: WHEN BLACK KETTLE
AGREED TO RETURN TO SAND CREEK,

ON THE RESERVATION,

REGULAR ARMY OFFICERS
LED HIM TO BELIEVE

HIS PEOPLE WOULD BE SAFE.

BUT CHIVINGTON WAS NOT
AN OFFICER IN THE REGULAR ARMY.

HIS NEW COMMAND,
THE THIRD COLORADO VOLUNTEERS,

HAD YET TO FIGHT A MAJOR BATTLE.

SCORNFUL DENVER NEWSPAPERS

WERE CALLING THEM
"THE BLOODLESS THIRD,"

AND THEIR ENLISTMENTS
WERE ABOUT TO RUN OUT.

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, CHIVINGTON
WAS DETERMINED TO HAVE HIS WAR.

AT DAWN ON NOVEMBER 29, 1864,

HE AND 700 MEN REACHED THE EDGE
OF BLACK KETTLE'S CAMP

ON THE BANKS OF SAND CREEK.

MANY OF THEM WERE DRUNK

FROM THE WHISKEY
THEY HAD SWALLOWED

TO WARM THEM
DURING AN ICY, ALL-NIGHT RIDE.

ONE OF WILLIAM BENT'S SONS,
ROBERT,

WAS RIDING WITH CHIVINGTON,

COMMANDEERED AT GUNPOINT TO SHOW
THE WAY TO THE CHEYENNE CAMP.

BENT'S OTHER CHILDREN --
CHARLES, JULIA, AND GEORGE --

WERE ALL INSIDE THE CAMP.

SOME REGULAR ARMY OFFICERS
PROTESTED

THAT TO ATTACK
THE PEACEABLE VILLAGE

WOULD BETRAY
THE ARMY'S PLEDGE OF SAFETY.

CHIVINGTON IGNORED THEM.

"DAMN ANY MAN WHO SYMPATHIZES
WITH INDIANS," HE SAID.

"KILL AND SCALP ALL, BIG
AND LITTLE -- NITS MAKE LICE."

HE ORDERED THE ATTACK.

FROM DOWN THE CREEK,

A LARGE BODY OF TROOPS
WAS ADVANCING AT A RAPID TROT.

IN THE CAMPS,
ALL WAS CONFUSION AND NOISE --

MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN

RUSHING OUT OF THE LODGES
PARTLY DRESSED,

WOMEN AND CHILDREN SCREAMING
AT THE SIGHT OF THE TROOPS,

MEN RUNNING BACK
INTO THE LODGES FOR THEIR ARMS.

BLACK KETTLE
HAD A LARGE AMERICAN FLAG

TIED TO THE END
OF A LONG LODGEPOLE,

AND KEPT CALLING OUT
NOT TO BE FRIGHTENED,

THAT THE CAMP
WAS UNDER PROTECTION,

AND THERE WAS NO DANGER.

THEN SUDDENLY
THE TROOPS OPENED FIRE

ON THIS MASS
OF MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN,

AND ALL BEGAN
TO SCATTER AND RUN.

WHITE ANTELOPE,

WHEN HE SAW THE SOLDIERS
SHOOTING INTO THE LODGES,

MADE UP HIS MIND
NOT TO LIVE ANY LONGER.

HE STOOD IN FRONT OF HIS LODGE,

WITH HIS ARMS FOLDED ACROSS HIS
BREAST, SINGING THE DEATH SONG.

"NOTHING LIVES LONG," HE SANG,

"ONLY THE EARTH
AND THE MOUNTAINS" --

GEORGE BENT.

Man: I NEVER SAW MORE BRAVERY

DISPLAYED BY ANY SET OF PEOPLE
ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH

THAN BY THESE INDIANS.

THEY WOULD CHARGE
ON THE WHOLE COMPANY SINGLY,

DETERMINED TO KILL SOMEONE
BEFORE BEING KILLED THEMSELVES.

WE, OF COURSE,
TOOK NO PRISONERS.

Man: AFTER THE FIRING,

THE WARRIORS PUT THE SQUAWS
AND CHILDREN TOGETHER

AND SURROUNDED THEM
TO PROTECT THEM.

I SAW FIVE SQUAWS UNDER A BANK
FOR SHELTER.

WHEN THE TROOPS
CAME UP TO THEM,

THEY RAN OUT
AND SHOWED THEIR PERSONS

TO LET THE SOLDIERS KNOW
THEY WERE SQUAWS

AND BEGGED FOR MERCY,

BUT THE SOLDIERS
SHOT THEM ALL --

ROBERT BENT.

[ GUNSHOT ]

Mann: MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER
WAS IN THE BAND OF BLACK KETTLE

WHEN THEY WERE ATTACKED.

THERE'S ONE LITTLE CHILD THAT
WAS WALKING UP THE CREEK BED,

AND THERE WAS A SOLDIER THERE

THAT WAS USING THE LITTLE BOY
AS TARGET PRACTICE.

HE TOOK ONE SHOT,
AIMED, MISSED HIM.

A SECOND CAME ALONG,
TRIED AND MISSED HIM,

AND A THIRD SAID,
"LET ME KILL THE LITTLE DEVIL,"

AND THE LITTLE BOY DROPPED DEAD.

YOU HAD PREGNANT WOMEN
THAT WERE --

WHOSE BODIES
WERE BEING CUT OPEN,

AND THE FETUSES
BEING TAKEN FROM THEM.

THE PRIVATE BODY PARTS OF MEN
AND WOMEN WERE CUT FROM THEM,

AND SOME OF THEM USED

AS SADDLE HORNS, HAT BANDS,
TOBACCO POUCHES,

AND PUT ON PUBLIC DISPLAY
IN DENVER CITY.

AND IN SUCH A WAY
THAT YOU WOULD BEGIN TO ASK,

"WHO IS SAVAGE, IN THIS CASE?"

IT CERTAINLY WAS NOT
THE CHEYENNE.

Narrator: WHEN THE KILLING
STOPPED, NEARLY 200 CHEYENNE --

MOST OF THEM
WOMEN AND CHILDREN --

LAY DEAD AT SAND CREEK.

BLACK KETTLE WAS AMONG THOSE
WHO HAD MANAGED TO GET AWAY.

REGULAR ARMY OFFICERS
WERE APPALLED

BY WHAT CHIVINGTON'S VOLUNTEERS
HAD DONE.

GENERAL GRANT HIMSELF
PRIVATELY DECLARED THE MASSACRE

NOTHING LESS THAN MURDER.

THE CONGRESS AND THE ARMY

LAUNCHED
SEPARATE INVESTIGATIONS.

Man: THE COMMITTEE
ON THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR --

AS TO COLONEL CHIVINGTON,

YOUR COMMITTEE
CAN HARDLY FIND FITTING TERMS

TO DESCRIBE HIS CONDUCT.

WEARING THE UNIFORM
OF THE UNITED STATES,

WHICH SHOULD BE THE EMBLEM
OF JUSTICE AND HUMANITY,

HE DELIBERATELY PLANNED
AND EXECUTED

A FOUL AND DASTARDLY MASSACRE,

WHICH WOULD HAVE DISGRACED
THE VERIEST SAVAGE

AMONG THOSE WHO WERE
THE VICTIMS OF HIS CRUELTY.

Narrator: BUT BY THE TIME THE
TRIBUNALS REACHED THEIR VERDICT,

CHIVINGTON WAS A CIVILIAN AGAIN

AND BEYOND THE REACH
OF MILITARY JUSTICE.

IN THE END,
NO ONE WAS EVER PUNISHED.

NOR DID CHIVINGTON EVER ADMIT
HE HAD DONE ANYTHING WRONG.

SPEAKING BEFORE A REUNION
OF COLORADO PIONEERS

NEARLY 20 YEARS LATER,

HE DECLARED,
"I STAND BY SAND CREEK."

Campbell: ONE TIME I WENT
TO THE SAND CREEK SITE YEARS AGO

TO PUT A SIGN UP TO COMMEMORATE
WHERE THAT MASSACRE HAPPENED.

AND I WAS ALONE THERE.

IT WAS ABOUT 6:00
IN THE MORNING,

JUST AS THE SUN WAS COMING UP.

AND IT WAS VERY, VERY QUIET, AND
I SWEAR I HEARD BABIES CRYING.

AND IT WAS SUCH A STRONG,
EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR ME,

I LEFT THERE.

BUT I'VE TALKED
TO SEVERAL OF MY COUSINS

WHO HAVE ALSO GONE THERE
AT REALLY EARLY IN THE MORNING.

THEY SAY THE SAME THING.

Narrator:
ALL OF WILLIAM BENT'S CHILDREN

HAD SURVIVED THE MASSACRE.

ROBERT, WHO HAD BEEN FORCED
TO SHOW CHIVINGTON THE WAY

TO BLACK KETTLE'S VILLAGE,
TESTIFIED AGAINST HIM.

CHARLES JOINED THE DOG SOLDIERS,

A SOCIETY MADE UP OF THE
CHEYENNES' MOST FEARED WARRIORS,

AND WENT ON A RAMPAGE
OF TORTURE AND KILLING.

ALL WHITES, HE NOW BELIEVED,
WERE HIS ENEMY.

HE EVEN TRIED TO KILL
HIS OWN FATHER.

Mann: AFTER THE MASSACRE,

THERE WERE MANY CHEYENNES
THAT WANTED TO TAKE REVENGE

AND JOIN THE LAKOTA AND
CONDUCT RAIDS ALONG THE PLATTE.

BLACK KETTLE INSTEAD CHOSE
TO TAKE HIS BAND SOUTH,

INTO SAFER TERRITORY.

ALTHOUGH WRONGS HAVE BEEN
DONE ME, I LIVE IN HOPES.

I HAVE NOT GOT TWO HEARTS.

I ONCE THOUGHT
THAT I WAS THE ONLY MAN

THAT PERSEVERED TO BE
THE FRIEND OF THE WHITE MAN,

BUT SINCE THEY HAVE COME

AND CLEANED OUT OUR LODGES,
HORSES, AND EVERYTHING ELSE,

IT IS HARD FOR ME
TO BELIEVE WHITE MEN ANYMORE --

BLACK KETTLE.

AMERICA HAS NO NORTH, NO SOUTH,
NO EAST, NO WEST.

THE SUN RISES OVER THE HILLS
AND SETS OVER THE MOUNTAINS.

THE COMPASS JUST POINTS
UP AND DOWN.

AND WE CAN LAUGH NOW
AT THE ABSURD NOTION

OF THERE BEING
A NORTH AND A SOUTH.

WE ARE ONE AND UNDIVIDED --

SAM WATKINS.

Narrator: ON APRIL 9, 1865,
FOUR BLOODY YEARS OF CIVIL WAR

FINALLY ENDED WHEN ROBERT E. LEE
SURRENDERED HIS ARMY

AT APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE
IN VIRGINIA.

BALDWIN CITY,
THE STATE OF KANSAS.

MR. EDITOR,
TOWNS ARE STARTING UP

AS BY MAGIC
ALL ALONG THE VALLEY,

AND THE SOUND OF THE HAMMER
IS HEARD ON EVERY HAND.

I WISH TO SAY TO OUR FRIENDS
IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, ONE AND ALL,

WE HAVE NEVER REGRETTED
COMING TO KANSAS.

WE HAVE NEVER WAVERED --
NEVER FLINCHED --

NOT EVEN WHEN 3 TIMES
IN 24 HOURS

WE WERE COMPELLED
TO FLEE FROM OUR HOUSE.

I TELL YOU ALL, THOUGH WE HAVE
FELT THE HORRORS OF WAR,

IF WE WERE NOT IN KANSAS
ALREADY,

WE WOULD COME AS SOON AS STEAM
COULD BRING US.

YOURS RESPECTFULLY,
JULIA LOUISA LOVEJOY.

Narrator:
THE NEWLY REUNITED NATION

NOW TURNED ITS ATTENTION
TO THE WEST AS NEVER BEFORE.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF SETTLERS --

MANY OF THEM WAR VETERANS --
RUSHED WEST TO START NEW LIVES.

AT THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR,

MOST OF THE TROOPS
WERE MUSTERED OUT --

NEARLY A MILLION
STRONG, VIGOROUS MEN

WHO HAD IMBIBED THE SOMEWHAT
ERRATIC HABITS OF THE SOLDIER.

THEY NATURALLY LOOKED FOR
NEW HOMES TO THE GREAT WEST.

THESE MEN FLOCKED TO THE PLAINS

AND WERE STIMULATED BY
THE DANGER OF AN INDIAN WAR --

WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN.

Narrator: IN THE WINTER OF 1866,
TROOPS OF THE 18th INFANTRY --

THE REGULAR ARMY UNIT THAT HAD
SUFFERED MORE CASUALTIES

THAN ANY OTHER
IN THE CIVIL WAR --

OCCUPIED A BRAND-NEW POST
IN DAKOTA TERRITORY

CALLED FORT PHIL KEARNY.

BUT A LAKOTA LEADER NAMED
RED CLOUD AND OTHER WARRIORS

WERE DETERMINED
TO DRIVE THE SOLDIERS AWAY.

WHOSE VOICE WAS FIRST SOUNDED
ON THIS LAND?

THE VOICE OF THE RED PEOPLE
WHO HAD BUT BOWS AND ARROWS.

WHEN THE WHITE MAN
COMES IN MY COUNTRY,

HE LEAVES A TRAIL OF BLOOD
BEHIND HIM.

I HAVE TWO MOUNTAINS
IN THAT COUNTRY.

I WANT THE GREAT FATHER TO
MAKE NO ROADS THROUGH THEM --

RED CLOUD.

Narrator:
FOUR DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS,

THE LAKOTA AND THEIR ALLIES
ATTACKED A WAGON TRAIN

BRINGING FIREWOOD
BACK TO THE POST.

MANY INSIDE THE FORT
FEARED FOR THEIR LIVES,

BUT A 33-YEAR-OLD LIEUTENANT
NAMED WILLIAM J. FETTERMAN

SAW HIS CHANCE.

HE ASKED TO LEAD
A RESCUE MISSION.

"GIVE ME 80 GOOD MEN,"
HE BOASTED,

"AND I CAN RIDE THROUGH
THE WHOLE SIOUX NATION."

Momaday:
FETTERMAN WENT OUT WITH 80 MEN,

AND THERE'S A RIDGE JUST NEAR.

YOU CAN SEE THE TOP.

YOU CAN SEE IT THERE,
FROM THE FORT.

AND HIS COMMANDING OFFICER,
CARRINGTON,

GAVE HIM ORDERS
NOT TO GO BEYOND THAT RIDGE.

WHAT HAPPENED WAS
THAT THE INDIANS UNDER RED CLOUD

HAD AMASSED 2,000 SOLDIERS
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIDGE.

THEY WERE ALL HIDDEN
IN GULLIES AND RAVINES --

THE SIOUX, THE ARAPAHO,
AND THE CHEYENNE.

AND FROM THESE THREE GROUPS,

TWO MEN WERE CHOSEN FROM EACH
TO BE DECOYS.

THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS,
BUT A VERY HONORABLE THING.

SO THE DECOYS RODE UP ON
THE RIDGE IN SIGHT OF THE FORT.

Narrator: THE INDIANS BEGAN
TAUNTING FETTERMAN

FROM HORSEBACK,

EVEN GETTING OFF THEIR PONIES
AND ADJUSTING THEIR BRIDLES,

DESPITE THE ARMY BULLETS
BUZZING ALL AROUND THEM.

WHEN THEY RACED OVER THE RIDGE,
FETTERMAN HURRIED IN PURSUIT --

AND DISAPPEARED.

A FEW SHOTS WERE HEARD,

FOLLOWED UP
BY INCREASING RAPIDITY.

A DESPERATE FIGHT WAS GOING ON
IN THE VALLEY BELOW THE RIDGE,

IN THE VERY PLACE WHERE THE
COMMAND WAS FORBIDDEN TO GO.

THEN FOLLOWED
A FEW QUICK VOLLEYS,

THEN SCATTERING SHOTS,
AND THEN, DEAD SILENCE.

LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR
HAD PASSED,

AND THE SILENCE WAS DREADFUL --

MRS. FRANCES GRUMMOND.

Narrator: A NERVOUS SEARCH PARTY
FOUND FETTERMAN AND HIS COMMAND

LATE THAT AFTERNOON.

THEY WERE ALL DEAD.

WE PACKED THEM ON TOP OF THE
AMMUNITION BOXES IN THE WAGONS.

COULD NOT TELL CAVALRY
FROM THE INFANTRY.

ALL DEAD BODIES STRIPPED NAKED,
CRUSHED SKULLS, WITH WAR CLUBS,

EARS, NOSE, AND LEGS
HAD BEEN CUT OFF,

SCALPS TORN AWAY,

AND THE BODIES PIERCED
WITH BULLETS AND ARROWS,

WRISTS, FEET, AND ANKLES,

LEAVING EACH ATTACHED
BY A TENDON.

WE WALKED ON THEIR INTERNALS
AND DID NOT KNOW IT

IN THE HIGH GRASS.

PICKED THEM UP --
THAT IS, THEIR INTERNALS --

DID NOT KNOW
THE SOLDIER THEY BELONGED TO.

SO YOU SEE, THE CAVALRYMAN
GOT AN INFANTRYMAN'S GUTS,

AND AN INFANTRYMAN
GOT A CAVALRYMAN'S GUTS --

PRIVATE JOHN GUTHRIE.

Momaday: THERE WAS A BUGLER
WHOSE NAME WAS ADOLF METZGER,

AND HE WAS PINNED DOWN,

AND HE EXPENDED
ALL OF HIS AMMUNITION,

AND THEN HE TOOK HIS BUGLE

AND STARTED FIGHTING WITH IT
FIERCELY.

AND HIS BODY WAS THE ONLY ONE
THAT WAS NOT DEFILED THERE.

AND INDEED, THE INDIANS PLACED
A BUFFALO CLOAK OVER IT

BECAUSE HE FOUGHT
WITH SUCH BRAVERY,

AND THEY PAID HIM HOMAGE
FOR THAT.

Grummond: THE LADIES CLUSTERED
IN MRS. WAND'S CABIN

AS NIGHT DREW ON,

ALL SPEECHLESS FROM
ABSOLUTE STAGNATION AND TERROR.

THEN THE CRUNCHING
OF WAGON WHEELS

STARTLED US TO OUR FEET.

THE GATES OPENED.

WAGONS WERE SLOWLY
DRIVEN WITHIN,

BEARING THEIR DEAD,
BUT PRECIOUS, HARVEST

FROM THE FIELD OF BLOOD,

AND CARRYING THE LIFELESS
BODIES TO THE HOSPITAL,

WITH THE HEART-RENDING NEWS,

ALMOST TENDERLY WHISPERED
BY THE SOLDIERS THEMSELVES,

THAT NO MORE WERE TO COME IN.

DEAR GENERAL SHERMAN,
IN TAKING THE OFFENSIVE

I HAVE TO SELECT THAT SEASON
WHEN I CAN CATCH THE FIENDS,

AND IF A VILLAGE IS ATTACKED
AND WOMEN AND CHILDREN KILLED,

THE RESPONSIBILITY
IS NOT WITH THE SOLDIERS,

BUT WITH THE PEOPLE

WHOSE CRIMES
NECESSITATED THE ATTACK --

GENERAL PHILIP SHERIDAN.

DEAR GENERAL SHERIDAN,

I WILL BACK YOU
WITH MY WHOLE AUTHORITY.

I WILL SAY NOTHING
AND DO NOTHING

TO RESTRAIN OUR TROOPS

FROM DOING WHAT THEY DEEM
PROPER ON THE SPOT

AND WILL ALLOW
NO MERE VAGUE, GENERAL CHARGES

OF CRUELTY AND INHUMANITY
TO TIE THEIR HANDS,

BUT WILL USE ALL THE POWERS
CONFIDED TO ME

TO THE END THAT THESE INDIANS,

THE ENEMIES OF OUR RACE
AND OF OUR CIVILIZATION,

SHALL NOT AGAIN BE ABLE

TO BEGIN AND CARRY OUT
THEIR BARBAROUS WARFARE --

GENERAL
WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN.

Narrator: FOR THREE YEARS,
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAVERED

BETWEEN A POLICY OF NEGOTIATION
OR WAR

WITH THE INDIANS OF THE PLAINS.

BUT IN 1868, THE PROBLEM WAS
TURNED OVER TO TWO OF THE MEN

WHOSE MILITARY STRATEGY HAD
BROUGHT THE SOUTH TO ITS KNEES.

DURING THE CIVIL WAR,

PHILIP SHERIDAN
HAD SO THOROUGHLY STRIPPED

THE BOUNTIFUL SHENANDOAH VALLEY,

HE LIKED TO CLAIM THAT A CROW,
WISHING TO FLY OVER THE VALLEY,

HAD TO CARRY ITS OWN RATIONS.

AND WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN
HAD CUT A SWATH

FROM ATLANTA TO THE SEA,

LEAVING THE BLACKENED CHIMNEYS
OF HUNDREDS OF HOMES

AS TESTIMONY TO THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF HIS METHODS.

TOGETHER, THEY WOULD TRY
TO DO TO THE INDIANS

WHAT THEY HAD DONE TO THE SOUTH.

AND THEY WOULD START WITH THE
CHEYENNE ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

THE CAMPAIGN THEY DEVISED
WOULD BE WAGED IN THE WINTER,

WHEN THE INDIANS
WERE MOST VULNERABLE.

IT CALLED
FOR THREE SEPARATE COLUMNS

TO FORCE THE CHEYENNE
BACK ONTO THEIR RESERVATION.

THE SOLDIER
MEANT TO DO THE REAL FIGHTING

WAS SHERIDAN'S FAVORITE OFFICER,

ONE OF THE UNION'S
MOST CELEBRATED GENERALS --

GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER,
WHO HAD BUILT HIS REPUTATION

LEADING DARING CAVALRY CHARGES
AGAINST THE CONFEDERATES.

CUSTER LEPT AT THE CHANCE.

NOVEMBER 23, 1868.
REVEILLE AT 3:00.

SNOWED ALL NIGHT AND IT'S
STILL SNOWING VERY HEAVILY.

DAYLIGHT FOUND US ON THE MARCH.
ALL LANDMARKS WERE INVISIBLE.

THEN GENERAL CUSTER,
WITH COMPASS IN HAND,

TOOK THE LEAD
AND BECAME OUR GUIDE --

SECOND LIEUTENANT
EDWARD S. GODFREY,

SEVENTH CAVALRY.

Narrator: CUSTER DROVE HIS MEN
RELENTLESSLY,

UNTIL ONE NIGHT
HIS INDIAN SCOUTS REPORTED

THEY HAD FOUND A CHEYENNE
VILLAGE OF SOME 50 LODGES.

HE ORDERED HIS MEN
TO PREPARE FOR A DAWN ATTACK,

THOUGH HE DIDN'T KNOW
HOW MANY INDIANS WERE THERE

OR WHOSE VILLAGE IT WAS.

AS IT HAPPENED,
IT WAS BLACK KETTLE'S.

HE AND HIS BAND
WERE NOW ENCAMPED

ALONG THE BANKS
OF THE WASHITA RIVER

IN WHAT IS NOW OKLAHOMA.

A WHITE FLAG FLEW
ABOVE HIS TEPEE.

I HAVE ALWAYS DONE MY BEST
TO KEEP MY YOUNG MEN QUIET,

BUT SOME WILL NOT LISTEN,
AND SINCE THE FIGHTING BEGAN,

I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE
TO KEEP THEM ALL AT HOME.

BUT WE WANT PEACE,
AND I WOULD BE GLAD

TO MOVE ALL MY PEOPLE
DOWN THIS WAY.

I COULD THEN KEEP THEM ALL
QUIETLY NEAR CAMP --

BLACK KETTLE.

Narrator: SOME OF HIS YOUNG MEN
HAD SLIPPED AWAY

TO STEAL LIVESTOCK
AND RAID SETTLERS.

THERE WERE FOUR WHITE CAPTIVES
BEING HELD IN THE VILLAGE.

IT WAS THE PONY TRACKS
OF ONE OF THE WAR PARTIES

THAT HAD LED CUSTER'S SCOUTS
TO THE EDGE OF THE CAMP.

NOVEMBER 27, 1868, DAWNED --
TWO DAYS SHORT

OF THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE SLAUGHTER AT SAND CREEK.

Mann: MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER
WAS AMONG ABOUT 400 INDIVIDUALS

THAT FOLLOWED BLACK KETTLE AND
WERE CAMPED ALONG THE WASHITA

WHEN THE SOLDIERS CAME IN
FROM THE FOUR DIRECTIONS

TO THE TUNE OF THE MILITARY BAND
PLAYING "GARRY OWEN"

ON SUCH A BITTERLY COLD MORNING
THAT THE INSTRUMENTS OF THE MEN

FROZE TO THEIR LIPS

AS THEY WENT ABOUT
THE SLAUGHTER.

Narrator: CUSTER
AND MORE THAN 600 SOLDIERS

CHARGED THROUGH
BLACK KETTLE'S CAMP.

IT WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING

WHEN THE SOLDIERS
BEGAN THE SHOOTING.

ALL OF US JUMPED FROM OUR BEDS,

AND ALL OF US STARTED RUNNING
TO GET AWAY.

I WAS BAREFOOTED, AS WERE
ALMOST ALL OF THE OTHERS --

KATE BIG HEAD.

Narrator: THE KILLING WENT ON
FOR HALF AN HOUR.

THE SURVIVORS HID
IN THE TALL GRASS.

Mann: MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER
ESCAPED, AGAIN, FORTUNATELY,

BUT BLACK KETTLE
AND HIS WIFE DID NOT.

HE BROUGHT HIS PONY
UP ALONGSIDE OF HER

AND TOLD HER TO GET BEHIND HIM.

SHE CLIMBED UP BEHIND HIM,

AND AS THEY STARTED TO RIDE
ACROSS THE WASHITA, WERE KILLED.

[ GUNSHOT ]

HE DIED FIGHTING
FOR WHAT HE BELIEVED IN --

AND THAT WAS PEACE.

Narrator: IN THE SPRING,
THE LAST CHEYENNE HOLDOUTS

FROM THE RELENTLESS
WINTER CAMPAIGN

BEGAN TO SURRENDER.

ONE BAND WAS LED BY A CHIEF
NAMED ROCK FOREHEAD.

CUSTER DECIDED TO TRY
TO TALK HIM INTO GIVING UP,

RATHER THAN RISK AN ATTACK.

HE ENTERED THE VILLAGE
WITH ONLY AN INTERPRETER,

AND WAS TAKEN
TO THE CHIEF'S TEPEE.

THERE,
SEATED UNDER THE SACRED ARROWS,

THE CHEYENNES' MOST HONORED
AND POWERFUL MEDICINE,

THE INDIANS PASSED ALONG
A CEREMONIAL PIPE

FOR CUSTER TO SMOKE.

HE TOLD THEM IF THEY RETURNED
TO THE RESERVATION,

NO ONE WOULD BE HARMED,
AND PEACE WOULD BE RESTORED.

EVENTUALLY, ROCK FOREHEAD
WOULD AGREE TO GIVE UP.

BUT ON THAT DAY,

HE WAS NOT CONVINCED
THAT CUSTER WAS TRUSTWORTHY.

AND HE TAPPED OUT THE PIPE'S
ASHES ON THE GENERAL'S BOOTS,

TO BRING CUSTER BAD LUCK
AND TO DRIVE HOME A WARNING.

Big Head: THEY TOLD HIM THEN
THAT IF EVER AFTERWARD

HE SHOULD BREAK
THAT PEACE PROMISE

AND SHOULD FIGHT THE CHEYENNES,

THE EVERYWHERE SPIRIT SURELY
WOULD CAUSE HIM TO BE KILLED.